Before I start, I'd like to preface this by saying that what I'm going to say right now isn't the most popular sentiment out there.

Consider yourself warned.

Well, Spore's been out for a while, and with the exception of people complaining about DRM, there seems to be a huge divide, at least if Meta Critic is to be believed. Meta Critic has the game at 85% based on 45 reviews, but the game rates 4.7 with users. Now, we're going to be liberal and give the game a full extra point to excuse people ranting solely on the DRM without having played the game. So that's 85% with reviewers and 57% with users. Why the incredible gulf? Looking at Meta Critic, it seems that many reviewers are willing to excuse the overly simplified gameplay because the game's so darn creative. Which of course is a nice way of saying that they all worship Will Wright and don't dare give the game a poor rating.

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With the announcement of a 5-install limit for Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 and the problems legitimate consumers have had with Spore, people are once again railing against the evil that is DRM in the PC gaming landscape. Indeed, no form of copy-protection has been able to prove effective, and nearly all of them have proven bothersome, from the minor inconvenience of checking the manual or a CD-Key to the nightmare of online activation. With numerous workarounds for Steam games, it's been proven that even digital distribution doesn't work. That is of course to say nothing of digital distribution plus SecuROM, which did no favors for Bioshock. Indeed, not a single method of protection has proven effective.

However, what is the alternative?

With installs fast becoming a mandatory hindrance for PS3 users, I decided to get a new HDD for it. 320GB, I figured, should be enough. If I only knew what I was setting myself up for.

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